Geocaching

Top 10 Reasons to go Geocaching

We recently had a family gathering at our place and at one point we were talking about Geocaching and our upcoming trip (surprise, surprise). The brother-in-law posed a question that sort of threw us for a loop. He asked, “Why do you do it?” Of course, our quick reply was, “Because it’s fun!”.

However, this didn’t explain why we believe it is so fun so we thought a bit more and here, in no particular order, is our Top 10 Reasons To Go Geocaching:

Great ExerciseWalking is one of the greatest exercises and one of our great pleasures. Geocaching offers us a walk with a purpose. It entices us to walk further, and most time unknowingly. Time and distance just seems to fade away. We look forward to ‘going Geocaching’ a whole lot more than ‘another walk around the block’! And, of course, there’s that mad dash when we spot the cache that really gets the blood flowing!

Quality Family TimeGeocaching offers a chance for us to participate in something together. Today’s schedules can get quite hectic and we find Geocaching is a great grounding point. We have also had the chance to share this with other family members and have had a great time. We have several friends with young families that Geocache and it’s a real treat to see the children’s eyes light up when you mention ‘treasure hunting’!

What It Is and How It Works – For the uninitiated, GPS stands for Global Positioning System. It’s a method of finding a receiver anywhere on earth or in orbit, and it’s probably one of the most important inventions of the 20th century. GPS can be used in so many varied ways that new technologies are constantly being developed and improved in order to take advantage of it. Now why is GPS so important and useful. First, we have to understand how it work

Scavenger hunts taken to new level

Navigation game sends players across world

Geocaching challenges participants to use their GPS unit to find lockboxes hidden all over the universe.

Say goodbye to the old map and compass and hello to a new, high-tech way of treasure hunting called Geocaching.

Geocaching is an adventure game for Global Positioning System users. The user gets on the Geocaching Web site, www.geocaching.com, and puts coordinates into the GPS unit. The basic idea is to have people set up caches all over the world and share the locations of these caches on a the Web site.

Since 2000 when the “sport” was created, the Web site lists 1,217 local users who have found lockboxes in Lawrence.

Mollie Osborne, Tonganoxie, freshman, has been Geocaching twice with a group of friends, one who has a GPS. Although the concept may sound easy enough, the hunt can actually take hours.

I do electrical & plumbing service calls and felt like I needed a navigator for my truck. After a little research I decided on the Nuvi 350 by Garmin. One of the main features that sold me was that you can take it out of the truck and use it for geocaching as well.

With personal navigation systems becoming increasingly like commodities, it's really nice to see a GPS break out of the traditional mold. That's just what Magellan did with its new CrossoverGPS. The CrossoverGPS is unique because it not only provides top-of-the line automotive capabilities, but is also a capable outdoor GPS for campers, hikers, and hunters. And, with the addition of optional BlueNav marine cartography charts, the CrossoverGPS can even function as a marine GPS.

Geocaching, a GPS adventure game played worldwide, is gaining followers, with students at Oswego's Kingsford Park Elementary School leading the way.

The game, introduced to KPS sixth-graders two years ago by physical education teacher Deb Ferlito, is similar to a scavenger hunt, explained Ferlito. The idea is to have individuals and organizations hide caches all over the world and share the locations of these caches on the Internet. Teams are then each given a GPS system, in which they can plug in the location coordinates to find the caches, she said.

I sit atop a car that was part of a bombing range target used on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota starting in the 1940s. My friend and I were the first to find the geo-cache hidden here.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This is a large tale in our nation's history, as well as my South Dakota trip over Thanksgiving. Part 1 ran in the Dec. 11 issue of the Bluff Country Reader, while Part 2 ran in the Dec. 18 issue. And now - the conclusion.

Geocaching took on an adven-turous and historic twist over Thanksgiving, when my friend, Dave, and I visited the Pine Ridge Reservation.

If you know where to look, and look hard enough, you can find them. Geocachers, that is.

"It's incredibly popular," said Christa Lindsey, who is an REI outdoor school instructor who leads geocaching classes. "There are caches in almost every country in the world now. The last time I checked, I think (there were) over 300,000 caches with over 500,000 active users."

INTRODUCTION: GPS Tuner is THE application for any of the various "off-road" situations where you might find yourself needing GPS info, such as hiking, Geocaching, cycling, boating (fishermen will LOVE this tool to find their favorite fishing spot quickly and accurately), and even in the hobby of flying (although you should only consider it’s use as a backup to your existing instrumentation!). You can, of course, use it for on-road navigation, but it was primarily designed for off-road use.